title: The vanishing lung: an important cause of hyperlucency on chest radiograph.
abstract: Giant bullous emphysema is an uncommon condition characterised by large asymmetric bullae with upper lobe predominance. This condition is most frequent in young male smokers. Patients usually present with progressive breathlessness which is secondary to enlargement of the bullae leading to compression of the lung parenchyma. Large asymmetrical bullae may appear as a unilateral hyperlucency on a plain chest radiograph, and may mimic the appearances of pneumothorax. A computed tomography scan is needed to delineate the lung pathology. We describe two cases with this condition that presented acutely and discuss the management of bullous emphysema.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, HU16 5JQ, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faruqi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Varma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001768:Blister; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D019568:Lung, Hyperlucent / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000175:diagnosis; D001261:Pulmonary Atelectasis / Q000150:complications; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed